he is expected to deliver a vigorous defense of president bashar al assad's handling of the crisis that has now engulfed syria for the past 18 months and, of course, has spiralled into a civil war. >>> the supreme court opened its new term this morning at 10:00. it is a big one. important cases the court may decide include affirmative action, same-sex marriage and voting rights. yesterday six of the nine justices attended the red mass at the roman catholic cathedral of st. matthew the apostle in washington held every year just before the start of the court's new session. >>> we expect an announcement today about the mystery surrounding jimmy hoffa's remains. investigators are waiting for tests on mud and clay samples from a home in suburban detroit. they searched under a shed there on friday. you'll remember a tipster claims he saw what appeared to be a body being buried at that site the day after the former teamster's chief disappeared back in 1975. >>> the super bowl champion new york giants are off to a shy start. i'm happy about that. they lost their second game of the season to a d